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Beneficial implications of a new cutting technology for the dental implant architecture: BLOSSOM™

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Dental implants have undergone numerous modifications in order to make their placement more predictable, their stability more immediate, and the treatments of which they are a part more successful.

The average success rate for dental implant treatments that has been cited in the literature is between 95% and 98% when they are placed according to conventional principles and accepted research- supported recommendations.

Dental implant treatment success, however, is predicated on multiple factors. Among the most important are osseointegration and stability, both of which are influenced by the bone quality/surface area into which the implant is placed, as well as bone remodeling.

As knowledge of the biological and mechanical effects of dental implants and their placement protocol have broadened, aspects of the implants themselves (e.g., implant length and diameter, coatings and surface roughness, and thread design, etc.) and implant surgical techniques have evolved. The goals of alternations have been to provide patients with more immediate benefits, enhanced and shorter healing experiences, and an overall less traumatic and successful treatment.

However, even under the most optimal conditions (e.g., adequate quantity and quality of available bone, sufficient volume and health of periodontal tissue), implant placement has inherently necessitated application of force and pressure by the dentist, and recovery from an invasive procedure by the patient. Although some consider a failure rate of 3% to 5% to be minimal, dental implant failures present a heavy burden for dentists and their patients when negative sequelae occur. Additional material expenses, procedural and healing time, and trauma affect the patient, and skepticism and degraded confidence leave their mark on dentists and their practices.

Therefore, a scientifically-engineered innovation that can help to lower the dental implant failure rate — or even reduce the annual number of failures that occur in a practice by one or more — should be embraced, especially because the mere “ability to integrate” is no longer the sole measure of dental implant success. Instead, more extensive and refined success criteria include the clinician’s ability to re-engineer the osteotomy biology, enhance initial stability for faster integration, and preserve tissue biotype and crestal bone. When achieved collectively, shorter healing times to final reconstruction result, and a more favorable esthetic environment is created.

A new science and engineering-based paradigm

To facilitate ease, efficiency, and predict-ability in achieving these prerequisites for success, a new and patent-pending cutting technology for self-tapping, screw-type dental implant architectures has been introduced (BLOSSOM, Intra-Lock® International). The BLOSSOM crescent-shaped, helical, self-tapping configuration consists of a unique series of strategically placed and angled cutting surfaces, with at least one on each thread. This feature enables dentists to continually cut through bone with increased surgical efficiency, minimal force, and less trauma.

Additionally, the BLOSSOM archi-tecture incorporates spiral channels that eliminate buildup of a large concentration of fractured bone in the cutting area (e.g., crowding) and produce fewer, more evenly distributed bone particles. This “self-clearing” action promotes faster osseointegration, since the bone particles originating from the cutting threads serve as nucleating sites for new bone formation. They act like an autologous micro-graft over the full length of the treads of the implant, creating the perfect biomaterial for osteoblastic attachment.

These subtle yet meaningful changes correct the shortcomings of standard self-tapping implant thread designs that could lead to deleterious outcomes. With conventional self-tapping implant designs, a significant increase in torque develops as the implant is driven through bone. If high torque forces remain during final seating, over compression of bone can produce trabecular microfractures and excessive bone remodeling. Additionally, a loss of surface area in the apical third and buildup of a large concentration of fractured bone in the cutting area (e.g., crowding) can occur.

Scientists and bioengineers at Intra-Lock® addressed these problems by focusing on the mechanical and biological interactions of implants and bone, which ultimately led to eliminating the need for conventional flutes and vents that traditionally define self-tapping implants. Instead, BLOSSOM features a fully integrated tapping configuration that is evenly spaced and distributed along the implant. As a result, BLOSSOM implant placement lowers insertion torque and friction and minimizes compression microfractures. Additionally, BLOSSOM contributes to decreased micromovement by enhancing intimate bone contact and engaging a larger volume of surface area.

Conclusion

The BLOSSOM® cutting design brings dentists providing implant treatments closer to the biologic paradigm of accelerated implant healing by minimizing bone trauma. It enables them to efficiently cut through the osteotomy while preventing the over compression of bone that could lead to fibrous encapsulation and subsequent implant failure. By reducing compression-mediated (i.e., torque-related) micro-fracture, BLOSSOM® shortens early bone remodeling and promotes faster integration and increased bone-to-implant contact, creating a stable foundation for subsequent restoration. The Blossom® implant architecture accomplishes this using finesse, not force, to increase oral implantology success rates.

This information was provided by Intra-Lock International Inc.

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